Google Docs is a cloud-based Google product with all the features you need to createeditand share documents. Google offers a suite of apps designed for users who work online. Integration with Google Drive’s cloud storage capabilities allows you to access and work on your documents from anywhere.
Switching from Microsoft Word to Google Docs can be a daunting task since there are a lot of new features to discoverand the document editing interface might look unfamiliar.
You can get started with Google Docs by following a few simple stepsand learning more about the different features of this tool will help you become a Google Docs expert in no time.
Step 1: Setting up your Google account
Using Google Docs requires you to sign up for a Google account. It’s free to do soand your account provides you with access to GmailGoogle Mapsand YouTubeas well as the entire Drive suite.
To create a Google account, navigate to the sign-up page. Enter your information and follow the on-screen prompts. Congratulations! You now have a Google account. If you already have an accountjust log in as you normally would.
Step 2: Launching Google Docs
There are several ways to access Google Docsdepending on your device. You can download the app from the App Store or Google Playor click the Google Apps icon in the upper-right corner of the Google home page (represented by nine dots). You must then click the Docs button — you may have to scroll down within the menu that pops up or click More From Google in that same pop-up menu to see it.
Alternativelyyou can navigate to Google Drive and select Google Docs within the My Drive drop-down menu at the topor select Google Docs after you’ve clicked New on the left-hand side of the page. The last option is to navigate directly to a new Google Docs document. Once you’ve launched the web appyou’ll be ready to create a document.
Step 3: Creating a document
To make a new documentclick the blank page with the multicolored Addition sign inside itwhich is located on the upper-left side of the main Google Docs page. If you can’t find this iconscroll up to see it or scroll down to click the multicolored Plus Sign icon in the lower-right corner of your screen. Once you do thatthe aforementioned blank page icon with the multicolored addition sign will pop up again at the top of your screen. Click on that to open a new document.
If you are creating a document from Driveselecting Google Docs after hitting New will automatically create a blank document. If you click the smallright-facing Arrow next to Google Docsyou can even choose to create a new document based on a provided template. There are a variety of templates to choose fromincluding résumésbusiness lettersand a selection of third-party templates. You can even upload an existing .doc or .docx file to your Drive by clicking New > File Upload.
Step 4: Start working
Once you’ve created a documentyou can get to work. Click Untitled Document in the upper-left corner to add a title to your document. You can also adjust the font typetext sizeformatting (such as text strikethrough) layout tools like double spacingand much more via the Toolbar at the top of the page. Meanwhileit’s simple to delete a page in Google Docs should you need to make big edits.
If you can’t see your title or the menu bar at the top of the pagethose options may be hidden. If that’s the caseclick the downward-facing Arrow in the upper-right corner to display them.
Since you’re working within your browserany changes made to your document will be saved automatically. If you look to the right of your document’s title at the top of the screenyou should either see Saving… or Saved to Drive. Wait for the second message to appear before exiting out to ensure all your work has been saved. To show the version history of the doc at handclick on the Last Edit Was [number of seconds/minutes/hours] Ago link that is to the right of the Help menu button at the top of your screen. You’ll then be taken to a screen that shows you different edited versions of your document that you can choose to restore.
Want to keep your Google Drive storage organized? You can create a folder in Google Docs to help keep things tidy.
How to share your stuff
To share your documents with other peopleclick the blue Share button in the upper-right corner of the doc you wish to share. The button will be wedged between your picture — assuming you’ve added one to your Google account — and the Open Comment History iconwhich looks like a cartoon speech bubble. Afterwardinvite other users by entering the appropriate email addresses in the resulting window and clicking Done.
People you share with can either editviewor comment on a document depending on what permissions you grant them. This can be changed by tapping the drop-down menu directly to the right of the email address field once you’ve added someone. In this menuyou can mark someone as a Viewer, Commenteror Editor.
If you want to share the document with people using something other than emailclick Copy Link at the bottom half of the Share With People and Groups window. A link will be copied to your clipboard. Your document may have defaulted to a restricted level of privacy. This means that only people added to your document can open the link you send them. If you want to change the privacy level of the document so that it can be accessed by anyone who has the linkyou can do so by clicking the blue Change to Anyone with the Link hyperlinkwhich is also located in the lower half of the Share with People and Groups window.
Once you do thatyou’ll be taken to a window that lets you copy a shareable link to your document or further customize your document’s permissions by letting you choose what people can do with the document once they receive a link to it. You can do this by clicking on the drop-down menu (that is to the right of the Anyone with the Link option) and then choosing ViewerCommenter, or Editor from the menu.
Use the comment function
With Google Docsyou can watch in real time as other people make changes to a document. By clicking the Open Comment History button in the upper-right corner of your screenyou or anyone else who is in the document can start a discussion about your project. You can also see which users are currently looking at the document using the series of circles located to the left of the Open Comment History button. If no one besides you is looking at a given pagenothing will appear here.
You can also set each document so that you receive notifications for all comments added to the documentfor only comments that refer to youor no notifications at all. Notifications can be a helpful tool for collaborating with large groups of people. It’s ideal when working with a group that’s not in the same physical space. Iffor some reasonyou don’t want users to have the option to add comments to a given documentyou can also change the editing mode (more on that in the next section).
Get to know the various editing modes
The editing mode drop-down menu (located on the right side of the screen under the Share button) lets you view and edit your document in a variety of ways. Your three main choices are: Edit the file yourself (Editing)suggest changes for another contributor to make (Suggesting)or view or print the document (Viewing). If you’re familiar with Microsoft Wordthe Suggesting feature functions similarly to Track Changes. The tool will spotlight suggested edits in a noticeable hue throughout the document. Other contributors or editors can either approve or deny these suggestions as they create the final draft. Aside from the Suggesting featureyou can track a document’s revision history through File > Version History > See Version History.
If you need toyou can even draw in Google Docs to add doodlessketchesannotationsand more. This feature can also be used to insert a text box in Google Docs.
Try out a different document type
Google Drive contains multitudes. Google Slides is a challenger to Microsoft PowerPointbut much like Docs doesit opens the door to collaboration from multiple contributors. Google Sheets is Microsoft Excel’s rival when it comes to creating and editing spreadsheets.
Google’s suite of productivity web apps is a free and fierce competitor to Microsoft 365. It isn’t as thorough or comprehensivebut at no chargeusers can access these apps to create and save content online with elaborate collaboration. Users are able to log in to their Google account to access their saved DocsSheetsand Slides files on any deviceanywhere in the worldas long as they have internet access.
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